Art of wrapping packages



C. 5- WEEKS ART OF WRAPPING PACKAGES Filed D80. 24, 1920 3 Sheets-Sheet1 Men for. (Ear/6J1; Wed s,

Feb 3. 1 925.

C. 5- WEEKS ART OF WRAPPING PACKAGES Filed Dec. 24, 1920 5 shets sheet 2E O F E 'v i F Mremorr 6/70/7665. Weds.

Feb. 3. ,1 925.

1,525,015 c. 5. WEEKS ART OF WRAPPING PACKAGES Filed Dec. 24, 1920 sShets-Sheet 5 Patented Feb. 3, 1925 UNITED srA'ras PATENT OFFICE.

CH ARLES S. WEEKS, OF SOUTH ORANGE, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR T0 WEEKS ENGI-NEERING CORPORATION, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

AR'J. OF WRAPPING PACKAGES.

article the external surface or contour of which is irregular, more orless.

The application of a wapper directly .to an article is attended withmore or less 'difl'iculty in instances where the surface of said articleor the contour thereof is irregular, a chief source of the difiicultybeing the inability to obtain, without the aid afforded by a carton oranalogous element, a smooth plane surface for the application of thepressure required to fasten or seal the wrapper.

Ina broadcomprehensive aspect, my invention involves a procedure as wellas a means whereby a smooth solid support is provided for'the lappingmarginal portions of awrapper, which smooth solid support affords acontinuous surface for the application of the pressure required toeffect the v sealing of one portion of the wrapper to an underlyingportion thereof.

The improvement in the art of applying a Wrapper to an article the.surface or-contour of which is or may be irregular in-,

volves in a preferred mode of procedure the steps of folding a wrapper,with or without a circular or other insert, around the article so as toposition one marginal portion of said wrapper in'to overlapping-relationto another marginal portion thereof, interposing a relatively unyieldingor stifl' member intermediate the article and the lapped portions ofsaid wrapper, and applying pres sure to said lapped portions of thewrapper, the aforesaid interposed member affording a solid smoothcontinuous bearing surface for supporting the lapped portions .of thewrapper whereby the pressure is applied equally to said wrapper alongthe line of the seam notwithstandingan irregularity or inequality in thesurface of the article to which said wrapper is applied. I

The mechanism which I have devised for the performance of the wrappingand seal- Application filed December 24, 1920. Serial No. 432,910.

ing operations includes, as its salient feature, the employment of apart or member which for the purpose of identification will be referredto herein as a sealing blade, the same comprising a metallic member" thelength and width of which is suited "to the size of the wrapper so as toafford the required support to the lapping marginal portions of saidwrapper during the application of the closing, or folding and sealing,pressure. Said \sealing blade co-operates with the wrapper foldingmechanism to the end that said blade may be positioned in operativerelation to the article and to the wrapper prior to the operation offinally folding the marginal portions of said wrapper relatively to saidarticle, suitable means being provided for actuating said sea-ling bladeto effectuate the introduction of'the blade into the required operativerelation to the article and to the wrapper, and to withdraw said bladefrom such relation to the article and thewrapper subsequent to theapplication of the pressure for closing or sealing the wrapper. a

The invention vconsists, further, in assembling a wrapper and an articlewith or without an insert or an end piece in such manner that saidarticle is superposed upon the wrapper; folding the Wrapper partiallyaround said article; thrusting a sealing member alongside the articleand in a plane parallel to the line of the seam by which the wrapper isultimately fastened or sealed;

folding one side of the wrapper after the other for the free marginalportions thereof per, and finally withdrawing the sealing member fromits position intermediate the article and the wrapper.

Other functions: and advantages of the invention will appear from thefollowing description taken in connection with the drawings, whereinFigure 1 is a diagrammatic View in plan illustrating the wrappers, thearticle, and the inserts ready for assemblage, and showing also aninsert upon the wrapper.

Figure 2 is a similar view showing the insert imposed upon the wrapperand the article imposed upon the insert.

tive position with respect to the article.

Figure 5 is an elevation partly in section looking toward theright inFigures '3 and 4 illustrating the wipers and a pressure de-' vice forfolding the upstanding marginal portions of the wrapper, said pressuredevice v performing the function also of applying sealing pressure tosaid wrapper.

Figures 6 and 'Z are views similar to Figure 5 illustrating thesuccessive stages of fold ing the wrapper.

Figure 8 is an elevation similar to Figures 5, 6 and 7 illustrating theapplication of pressure for sealing the folded marginal portions of thewrapper, and

Figure 9 is an elevation partly in section similar to Figures 3 and 4showing the sealing blade withdrawn from an operative relation to thepackage.

In the drawings, A is the wrapper, B an article, and C an insert to beassembled for wrapping the article, resulting in a package wherein thewrapper is applied to the article without utilizing a carton forencasing the article prior to the application of the I wrapper, althoughit is to be understood that I may in some cases use a carton around thearticle and apply such wrapper to the carton.

Wrapper A is a flat sheet of suitable material, usually paper, and of adesired shape and dimensions, and in a preferred form, said wrapper isprovided with ad hesive material on one face andadjacent an edgethereof, the adhesive material being shown by dotted lines in Figures 1and 2 as spots composed usually of a suitable paste. Article B may be ofany form, the same being shown in Figure 1 as a bottle the contour ofwhich is irregular; i. e., the neck is tapering and the mouth andstopper are of different shape from the contour of the body. Insert C isor may be a circular or folder adapted to be assembled with the articleand to occupy a superposed relation to the wrapper. The insert may beomitted, or any kind of insert may be used.

The wrappers and inserts are contained in suitable magazines, andprovision is made -.for feeding the wrappers, the inserts, the endpiece, and the articles in the required order. The wrapper is firstadvanced to as sume a flat horizontal position, after which the insertis-positioned upon the wrapper, the relative dimensions of the wrapperand insert being such that one end of the insert extends beyond a sideedge of the wrapper whereas two edges of the wrapper protrude beyondcorresponding edges of the insert,

see Figure 2. It is to beunderstood that the insert may be of suchdimensions as to lie altogether within the limits of the wrapper, and itmay, in that case, be folded with the wrapper intwo motions, instead ofthree, as shown herein. The article is imposed upon the insert, seeFigure 2, and the three parts thus assembled are moved conjointly and intheir assembled relation, to the wrapper folding mechanism certainelements of which are illustrated. in Figures 3 to 9 inclusive.

D is a carrier of any suitable kind, the same being provided with apocket, d, one wall d of which is movable and underthe pressure of aspring a", (see Figures 5 to 8). The pocket is open at the top to permitthe free introduction of the assembled wrapper, article and insert, theopposing walls of said pocket acting to impart the first folds to thepocket, the efli'ect of whichfis to fold the wrapper and the insertaround two sides of the article, leaving the marginal portions of thewrapper and the insert to extend upwardly from the pocket and withoneend of the insert "extending upwardly beyond a corresponding edgeportion of the wrapper, see Figure 5. 7

Subsequent to the assemblage of the wrapper, article and insert, and tothe operation of depositing the assembled parts into one pocket of thecarrier for preliminary folding the wrapper and insert partly aroundsaid article, the carrier is advanced to assome anoperative relation toa sealing member E, a plurality of wipers F G, and a pressure member H,a preferred construction of. which elements will now be described.

Y wrapper and the insert when the three assembled parts (A. B C) arethrust into the Referring more particularly to Figures 3, Y

4 and 9, the sealing member is a thin straight blade composed of metal,usually of spring steel. The length of the blade usually exceeds thelength of the article and the width of the wrapper, the said blade beingsufficiently wide for the marginal portions of the wrapper to overlapsaid blade. .The blade is secured at one end fixedly to a rocker I, thesame being pivotally mounted at '1: on a slide J, the latter havingreciprocating motion imparted thereto by a link y' of a vibrating memberJ, whereby the blade and the rocker may at the required times beadvanced to ward the carrier and Withdrawn therefrom. The rocker isshown as vbeing provided with two arms is, Z, one of which (Zr) isprovided with a slot is which receives a fixed stud 7: having a nut 70and carrying a helical friction spring (not shown) which acts tofrictionallyretain the rocker I in either of 4 is shown asdepending fromthe slide, and

said arm plays between two tappets K L during the reciprocating travelof the rocker and the blade with slide J, each tappet being shown as ascrew mounted for adjustment in a lug Z of a plate Z attached to astationary member Z of the' mechanism.

Wipers F G are shown as vibrating arms provided with suitable blades f 9respec: tively, said arms being fixed to rockshaftsf 9. Means areprovided for imparting vibratory motion "to the wipers arid foractuating said wipers in due order one after the other, the effectivestroke of wiper F being in one direction whereas the effective stroke ofwiper G is in a contrary direction, as indicated by the arrows in Figure5.

The function of wiper F is to fold one of F the two upstanding portionsof insert C downwardly upon the article as shown in Figure 6, leavingthe two marginal portions of wrapper A and the other upstanding marginalportion of insert C unaffected, whereas wiper G acts, upon thewithdrawal of wiper F, for the purpose of folding downwardly theupstanding portions at the.

right of Figure 6 of wrapper A and insert C, leaving one portion ofwrapper A at the left of Figure 6 still upstanding. Said second foldedportions of the insert and the wrapper are turned over simultaneouslyand' imposed upon the article and upon the previously folded edge of theinsert, thus positioning in overlapping relation one portion of theinsert and the wrapper with respect to the previously folded edgeportion of the insert, such folded portions overlapping the sealingblade E, see Figure 7.

The two upstanding portions of the insert and the upstanding edge of thewrapper having been folded by successive operations of the wipers F G,pressure shoe H is operated to perform the function of fold-- ing theremaining upstanding portion of wrapper A into lapping relation to thepreviously folded edge of said wrapper, see Figure 8, said pressure shoeH being advanced into contact with the wrapper during the periodof'withdrawal of wiper G in order that said wiper G may act in retainingthe 'folded insert and the partly folded wrapper in their properrelations to the article and to preclude an undesirable lifting andunfolding of the material upon the withdrawal of said wiper G andtheeffective stroke of the pressure shoe. Said shoe applies the pressurerequired to complete the operation of folding the wrapper and toforcibly depress one marginal portion of said wrapper into contact-wlththe pasted margin a. of the wrapper, the shoe having such action.uponthe folded matethe pasted margin.

The pressure device in the embodiment of the invention herein shownconsists of a Shoe mounted for reciprocating movement in a rectilinearpat across the carrier D td be capable of the required contact with thefolded material. Said shoe is provided with a pin it fitting in a slot kof a vibrating arm H, the latter'being carried by a rockshaft h which isassociated with appropriate means for imparting movement to the arm Hand shoe H in due order wit(l; respect to the operation of the wipersThe mechanism described operates as follows :The wrapper, the insert,and the article are assembled as described in superposed order, and theassembled parts are deposited in the pocket 0! of carrier D, the wallsof which act upon the wrapper and the insert to preliminarily fold thesame around two sides of the article, and the marginal portions of saidwrapper and insert extending upwardly from the walls of the pocket, oneedge of said insert being flush with an adjacent edge of the wrapperwhereas the other edge of the insert extends upwardly from thecorresponding edge of the wrapper, see Figure 5. As the carrier D, withits .load, is approaching the required position for the performance ofthe final folding and sealing operations, the.blade E, wipers F G- andshoe H occupy positions dut of the path of said carrier; but as thelatter comes to a state of rest, slide J is advanced, the sealing bladehaving been already lifted by contact with the tappet L at the finish ofthe previous withdrawal movement'of the slide- J and held in its liftedposition by the friction spring (not shown) to an inclined ,positionrelatively to the carrier and its contained parts, and said sealingblade while so lifted being moved by the advancing motion of ICU theslide over the article, see Figure 3. As

the slide continues its movement toward a a stationary position over andin contact c 4 v L with the article during the periods of operation ofwipers F and shoe H, but after shoe "H acts to seal the wrapper, slide Jis moved in an opposite direction and the sealing blade is withdrawnfrom its position intermediate the article and the wrap per, said bladeduring such withdrawal being movable in a path parallel to the axialline of the article (see Fi ure 9) in order to avoid disturbance of t ewrapper and the insert with'respect to the article. As the slideapproaches its final withdrawn position, arm Z of the rocker I contactswith the other tappet L, (see Figure 9) the effect of which is to turnthe rocker on its pivot and to lift the sealing blade to the inclinedposition, in which position the sealing i blade and the rocker areretained by the friction of the spring around the stud 70 until theslide is again moved forward into contact with tapptt K. V

The carrier D and sealing blade being at rest in contact with thearticle as in Figure 4, the wiper F is oscillated in an accurate pathindicated by the arrow in Figure 5,

the other wiper G and shoe H being at rest, whereby the blade f of saidwiper F presses on the insert at that edge which extends upwardly fromthe wrapper, the

result of which is to fold one margin of the insert over and to pressthe same downwardly upon the article B and blade E, see Figures 5 and-6. s

The wiper G now moves downward folding over simultaneously the righthand upstanding marginal portions of-the insert C and the wrapper A; Therespective movements of wipers F and G are so timed that the blade fremains in its lowermost position while the right hand portions of thewrapping materials are folded against itby blade-g. Both blades f and gare made of some flexible material, such, for example, as relativelythin spring steel, hence the pressure exerted between them is a yieldingpressure and the blade f is bent downwardly, pinching the left handmargin of insert C against the upper right hand corner of the sealingblade E (Fi 6). This left hand fold of insert C is'in t is mannerengaged by the sharp corner of the seal' blade so tha'tthe wiper F mayrecede sil iil withdraw the blade f without also/partial- 1y withdrawingalong with it the insert 0 and making a bulge in the package. Thisreoedin movement of the wiper F now takes p are (Fig. 7 and wiper Gproceeds in its downward movement to complete-the folding of thev righthand margins of the insert and wrapper upon the left hand margin of theinsert C, as shown in Fig. 7

,Thus the second fold of the wrapper and the insert'is effected toposition the insert and one portion of the wrapper in overlappingrelation to the previously folded standing e ge' of the wrapper andacting to fold the same downwardly upon the pre viously folded edge ofsaid wrapper, and

the advancing movement of the shoe taking place during the period ofwithdrawal. of the wiper and closely following thesame so that there isno possibility of 'a displacement of the folded insert and one edge ofthe folded wrapper, thus insuring precision in effectin the overlapbetween the two margins of t e wrapper. The shoe applies pressure uponthe folded portions of the insert and the wrapper, and acts to forciblypress onemargin of the wrapper into close contact with the other andpasted margin ,of said Wrapper, the sealing blade E affording a solidcontinuous bearing surface for the application'of the pressure requiredto effect the, sealing of the lapping margins of the wrapper and saidsealing blade compensating forthe irregularity in the surface or thecontour of article A, whereby the overlapped wrapper margin is pressedfirmly upon the pasted wrapper margin throughout the length of thewrapper to effectively seal the two margins togethe'rj The side seal ofthe package being now complete, the sealing blade is pulled out of thepackage by the movement of slide J, as heretofore described, and thecarrier 1) is moved by suitable means and carries the package from undershoe H to a position for the end folds to be made, shoe H returningmeanwhile to its initial position as shown in Figure 5.

- Subsequent to the application of the wrapper as herein set forth, thee'nd'portions of said wrapper are folded to produce closures to the endsof the packages; It is apparent that the closures at each end of thepackage should desirably presenta neat appearancein order to conform tothe regallarity in outline of the package, and while such desirableregularity is attained at one end of the package by the relatively flatform of the bottle or other filler contents, still at the stoppered orcapped end of the bottle the surface is comparatively irregular, hencethe stopper-ed or capped end of the filler (bottle) does not afford thedesirable plane surface for the end closure.-

To overcome this objection and in furtherance of the .purpose to soapply the wrapper to a bottle or other filler as to obtain a desirableregularity in appearance, it is roposed to supply a flat end piece M witin the wrapper and to position said end piece into co-operative relationto the ununiform end of the bottle or other filler. The end piece maydesirably consist of a fiat i sapiece of cardboard or other material,and it is supplied automatically at a desired stage in the operations offolding and sealing the Wrapper. It is preferred to feed each end pieceM into position against the capped or. stoppered end of the bottlesubsequent to the partial folding of the wrapper around the package bythe deposit of the wrapper, insert and article within the pocketedcarrier, suitable means being provided for feeding the end pieces to thesuccessive packages. Also, the end piece 1s positioned within the limitsof the partially folded wrapper prior to the introductlon of the sealingblade into the desired relation to the filler contents, so that the endpiece affords a support for the free end of the sealing blade (seeFigure 4) during the operations of folding the insert and the wrapperupon said sealing blade and the application of sealing pressure to thelapped margins of the wrapper. The end piece affords a solid backingagainst which the material of the wrapper is folded/ and pressed duringthe operation of folding, or folding and sealing, the wrapper to formand complete the end closure for the wrapper of the package, whereby theend closureat the stoppered end of the article 1s adapted tobe foldedfor presenting the desired regular appearance.

It is apparent that the invention is not restricted to the applicationof wrappers to bottles, nor to the use of an insert in connection withthe wrapper and the article or filler; but on the contrary the inventionincludes the application of the wrapper witlr or without an insert to adesirable filler, which latter may be a bottle such as shown or anyother article or material to be encased by a wrapper in accordance withthe invention.

By my invention an article is wrapped in such manner that it presents adesirable regular formfalthough such article is or may be of irregularcontour, and the wrapper is sealed uniformly throughout the length ofthe lap or seam at the marginal or meeting ends thereof.

The invention in respect to the improvement in the art may be practicedby hand, but for economy and rapidity of operation it is desirable toutilize mechanism analogous to the devices hereirndisclosed, it beingapparent, however,'that the process may be practiced through theinstrumentality of mechanism other than that shown and described as apractical means for the per formance of the functions required.

Having thus fully described the invention, what I claim as new anddesire to secure by Letters Patent is:v

1. In a. package wrapping apparatus, the combination of mechanicallyactuated means for applying sealing pressure to the proximate margins ofa folded wrapper, and supporting means co-operating with said pressuremeans mechanically actuated to one position so as to support saidmargins during the application of the sealing pressure and to a secondposition to withdraw said supporting means from the package.

2. In a package wrapping apparatus, the combination with mechanicallyactuated wrapper-folding mechanism, of 'mechanically actuated means forapplying sealing pressure to a wrapper, and supporting meansco-operating with said pressure means mechanically actuated to oneposition so as to support theproxiinate 'margins of said wrapper duringthe application of sealing pressure and to a second position to withdrawsaid supporting means from the package. Q

3. In a package wrapping. apparatus, the combination with mechanicallyactuated wrapper-folding arms, of mechanicallyactuated means forapplying sealing pressure to a wrapper, and means co-operating with saidpressure means ,mechanically actuated to one position so as to supportthe proximate margins of said wrapper during the application of sealingpressure and to a sec-. ond position to withdraw said means from thepackage, said means also co-operating while in its first position withsaid folding arms. to retain a margin of the partially folded wrapper inits folded position during the withdrawal of a folding arm.

4. In package wrapping mechanism, the combination with mechanicallyactuated wrapper-sealing means, of a blade for supporting the margins ofa wrapper during the sealing thereof, and mechanically actuated meansfor moving said blade into and out of operative position with respect tothe wrapper.

5'. A package wrapping apparatus comprising, a carrier for supporting afiller and a wrapper in partially folded relation thereto, a blademechanically actuated to a position adjacent a side .of the filler forproviding a straight folding and sealing surface therefor, meansforfolding the wrapper upon said blade with its marginal edges overlapping,and means for applying sealing pressure to said edges, said blade beingalso mechanically actuated to a second position to withdraw it from thepackage.

6. A package wrapping apparatus comprising, a carrier adapted to receivean article and partially fold a wrapper thereabout as the article andwrapper are laid therein, a blade mechanically actuated to a positionadjacent aside of said article for providing a straight folding andsealing surface, a plurality of wipers mechanically actuated to fold themar ins of the wrapper onto said blade in lapping relation, and asealing device mechanicallyactuated to press of said article forproviding a straight fold-, ing and sealing surface upon which to foldand seal the unfolded portions of the wrapper, said blade beingpivotally mounted upon a slide mechanically reciprocated relative to thecarrier, and means \associated"with said slide forjrotating the bladeabout its pivot, said means being actuated when the slide approaches oneend of its stroke to lower the blade into position adjacent the article,said means also being actuated when the slide approaches the oppositeend ofits stroke for raising the blade to its initial position, I i

8. In package wrapping mechanism,the

- combination with mechanically actuated wrapper-sealing means, ofawrapper-supp0rting blade adapted, when in operatiye position adjacent afiller to provide a straight folding and sealing surface for thewrapper, a carrying member upon which said blade is pivotally mountedand which is mechanically reciprocated to bring said blade into saidoperative position and to withdraw it from the package after the wrapperhas been sealed, and means co-op-- crating with said blade for impartingpivotal movement thereto as the carrying member approaches each end ofits stroke.

9. In package wrapping mechanism, a carrier provided with a pocket, onewall of which is yieldable with respect to the other walls, combinedwith a wrappersupporting member, means'for inserting and withdraw- 7 ingsaid member relatively to the pocket of said carrier, andwrapper foldingandseziling means. g

10. In the art of wrapping packages, the process which comprises,assembling a wrapper and a filler of uneven contour in superposedvrelation, inserting a wrapper-sup porting member in operative relationto said filler to provide an even surface upon which to fold thewrapper, folding "the wrapper uponsaid member with the margins thereofoverlapping each other, and withdrawing parallel relation, inserting aWrapper-supporting member alongside the filler in a plane parallel tothe line of the seam by which the wrapper is tobe ultimately sealed,foldin the upstanding ends of the wrapper with t eir margins in lappingrelation upon the wrappersupporting member, applyingse g pressure to thelapping marginal portions, and withdrawing the wrappersupporting memberfrom the filler thus wrapped.

' i 12. In the art of wrapping packages, the process whichcomprisesassembling a wrapper and a filler in superposed relation, positioning anendpiece in opposing relation to the filler, inserting awrapper-supportingmember in operative relation \to the filler, foldingthe wrapper intolapping relation to the wrapper-supporting member so asto encase said end piece, and withdrawing the wrapper-Sn porting memberfrom the wrapped fil er.

13. "In the art of wrapping packages,the process which comprisesassembling a wrapperand a filler in superposed relation, partiallyfolding said wrapper with respectto the filler, feeding an end-pieceinto position adjacent the filler and into superposed relation to thepartially folded wrapper, introducing a wrapper-supporting member intooperative relation to the filler, folding the wrapper into lappingrelation to the wrapper-supporting member so as to encase the end piece,and withdrawing the wrappersupporting member, from the wrapped filler.

In testimony whereof I have hereto signed my name this 17th day ofDecember, 1920. CHARLES S. WEEKS.

